Farmers of Geekalli, Kodinarasipura, Golur and other surrounding villages in Nanjangud toil in their fields, like every other day. What once used to be a fertile land reaping a fairly good yield from sugarcane and paddy is today completely barren. Even the water table here has been polluted to such an extent that farmers are left with no alternative but to use the polluted water for agriculture and worse, for drinking purpose as well. Simply put, they have been victims of industrialisation. The unabated release of effluents by a distillery factory closeby has killed the hopes of farmers, for generations, to grow ‘anything’ in their fields.

But their woes do not end here. With geologists and the Agriculture Department declaring the land as ‘barren’, banks have turned down farmers’ requests for loans. It must be noted here that the study conducted by the geologists says, “Even if the factory is closed, the land would be barren for another 50 years”.

In fact, the loan waiver scheme announced by the finance minister could do little to rescue these farmers from their plight. Farmers are cursing their fate for, neither are they able to pay back the loan they have borrowed nor are they able to avail a fresh loan.

About 100 to 150 acres in Geekalli have been rendered barren, leaving farmers in the lurch. In fact, Geekalli with 100 families is the worst affected due to this pollution. According to B M Somanna, a farmer who has been the crusader along with other farmers in fighting against the distillery factory, “Water from none of the water resources in the village is fit for drinking.”

The extent of damage is such that the colour of water in the open wells is brownish-black. It is needless to say that even cattle is forced to drink the same polluted water. According to Somanna, he has to change the water lifting pipes of his well once every six months as they get rusted due to the high level of alkaline present in the water.

Reportedly, the distillery factory which has been functioning since 1984 has done enough damage to the environment here. According to Somanna, nights in the village are horrible, thanks to the foul smell that emanates from the effluents discharged here. Explaining their plight, Somanna said, “A lady tahasildar who was on a visit to this village complained of nausea and vomiting and was rushed to the hospital immediately”.
While the farmers are forced to put up with all these problems, the government has not heeded to their pleas. Further, Somanna points out that there has been a rise in jaundice cases reported from the village and complaints of skin-related problems too.

Despite repeated protests by farmers, the government has not acted on it. Though the officials of the distillery factory have agreed to provide drinking water to the villagers, the water is no different in colour, says Somanna. The lagoons which have been erected to dump the waste of the factory have now been closed and the waste from the factory is now released directly to the ground, which speaks volumes of the damage that it has caused to the environment here.

Farmers, undeterred by the pain they are suffering, are silently carrying on with their protest. But, is anybody listening?